Embouchure collapse

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Embouchure collapse is a generic term used by woodwind and brass

players to describe a variety of conditions which result in the inability of
the embouchure to function. The embouchure is the purposeful
arrangement of the facial muscles and lips to produce a sound on a wind or
brass instrument. In brass playing, it involves vibration of the membrane
area of the lips.

Embouchure collapse in its various forms and extremities generally results

in difficulty in playing for extended periods (especially if playing loudly
and/or in the high register) or a complete inability to play. The former
applies mainly in less severe cases; the latter in the most severe cases.

This article focuses on embouchure collapse in brass players.

Contents
1 Causes
2 Focal dystonia
3 Embouchure overuse syndrome
4 Mouthpiece pressure
5 Diagnosis
6 Recovery
7 Additional information
8 References

Causes
There are a variety of causes for embouchure collapse, mainly focal
dystonia or Embouchure Overuse Syndrome; also, the topic of mouthpiece
pressure (whether or not excessive pressure is damaging to the
embouchure) is hotly debated by brass players.

Focal dystonia
Dystonia is a neurological disease affecting the brain's ability to fire
neurons (which control muscle movement) correctly. Focal dystonia
specifically affects one particular area of the body and is usually completely
isolated, affecting only one activity.[1] The disease basically renders the
sufferer unable to control the muscles in the affected area.[2]

The presence of this condition in a brass player's facial muscles results in

an inability to form an embouchure because of the individual's loss of
control over the relevant muscles. Because the condition is neurological,
there is, in terms of brass playing at least, no effective cure. Treatments
using botox have been pioneered to treat focal dystonia in other parts of the
body; however, they have been found to be ineffective in treating
embouchure collapse. This is possibly because botox causes the facial
muscles to relax; and although this collapse lessens the uncontrollable
twitching of the muscles, the newly relaxed status deprives the player of the
lip flexibility needed to play a brass instrument. For most brass players,
diagnosis with focal dystonia signals the end of their careers.[1]

Embouchure overuse syndrome

This is a far more common cause of embouchure collapse. As the name
suggests, embouchure collapse may be caused by "overuse"—or in simple
terms, playing "too much."

Most brass players at some time experience lip swelling (or "stiff lips").
When a player is forced to continue playing despite this, the resulting stress
can cause a chain of injuries that lead to embouchure collapse.[3]
Generally speaking, the best way of overcoming swollen lips is to refrain
from playing, or to practice for a shorter period of time and with a good
warm-up in the days following any period of extensive playing. When a
player is deprived of the opportunity to recuperate after a period of
extensive playing, the simple matter of swollen lips is not allowed to heal,
and the player is forced to work harder to compensate for diminished lip
strength. Eventually, the player's facial muscles may collapse under the
strain of playing.[3]

Mouthpiece pressure
The subject of mouthpiece pressure is closely related to the issue of
embouchure collapse/embouchure overuse.

It has long been argued that excessive mouthpiece pressure is a cause of

embouchure problems and can be a factor in causing embouchure collapse.
However, the pressure of the mouthpiece is not static during playing: it
increases the higher in the register a player plays and the louder volume
level.[4] Also, a little mouthpiece pressure is essential to provide a seal
between the player's embouchure and the instrument; without this, all the
air would escape before entering the instrument and no sound would be
emitted (brass instruments are dependent on an airflow to produce
sound).[5]

Embouchure collapse is far more common among trumpet and horn

players. Both of these instruments have mouthpieces with a small
circumference, and therefore the pressure is presumably greater, as the
force of the mouthpiece on the face is more concentrated. This is in
accordance with the principle of physics that pressure is the amount of
force divided by the area on which the force is exerted.[4]

As a result of a lack of scientific evidence (no scientific study into

mouthpiece pressure as a cause of embouchure collapse has ever been
done), the equally valid argument that all brass players can suffer
embouchure collapse, and the subjective (not static) nature of mouthpiece
pressure, knowledge of mouthpiece pressure as a cause of embouchure
collapse is limited.

Diagnosis
Embouchure collapse caused by focal dystonia can be diagnosed medically;
embouchure collapse caused by embouchure overuse, however, is generally
speaking not considered to be a specifically medical issue. A difficulty in
diagnosis is that when a brass player describes the symptoms to a doctor or
dentist (as is often the case), the medical practitioner does not fully
understand what the patient means. This is because brass players learn their
embouchure by feel, and therefore words have a limited ability to describe
embouchure problems, especially if the person listening to the description
is not a brass player and has a limited knowledge of the embouchure.[3]

Also, in less severe cases, the player may only be able to feel what is wrong
while playing. Many players with an embouchure problem will, once they
have realized that it is more than a simple case of tired lips, wish to refrain
from playing. The fact that around 24 muscles are employed in forming a
brass embouchure, and that each will change slightly as a player struggles
to play when experiencing embouchure problems, mean that what players
describe as being wrong will have not only worsened their condition when
they play, but will be different each time they do so.

In the severest cases, the pain caused by embouchure overuse can be felt
even when not playing; in some cases, other symptoms will manifest, such
as loss of tissue and damaged nerves. This, however, occurs only in the
rarest and most extreme circumstances and usually signals the end of the
player's career.

Recovery
As stated above, sufferes of focal dystonia have virtually no possibility or
recovery from embouchure collapse. Sufferers of embouchure overuse,
however, have been known to recover. The simplest way of doing so is to
refrain from playing for an extended period of time, possibly years, before
attempting to play again. The exact amount of time needed and whether or
not the player will have to completely relearn the use of the embouchure is
a largely subjective issue and depends on the individual.

Additional information
Several books on the subject are available, including Broken Embouchures
by Lucinda Lewis, a professional hornist, who has succeeded in helping
other brass players with embouchure problems.[6]

References
1. ^ a b Embouchures.com Service 3
(http://www.embouchures.com/Medical.htm)
2. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focal_dystonia
3. ^ a b c Broken Embouchures
(http://abel.hive.no/trumpet/embouchure/Broken_Embouchures.html)
4. ^ a b Mouthpiece Pressure - Fact or Myth - Polyphonic.org
(http://www.polyphonic.org/article.php?id=9)
5. ^ Jay Friedman: Principal Trombonist, Chicago Symphony Orchestra
(http://www.jayfriedman.net/reflections/20041108Shifting_gears.php)
6. ^ Embouchures.com (http://www.embouchures.com/)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Embouchure_collapse&oldid=552179265"
Categories: Brass instruments Mouth

This page was last modified on 25 April 2013 at 21:19.

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike
License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to
the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation,
Inc., a non-profit organization.